mpetry912 

Well, right, the buy and hold thing is key and it's hard to tell in advance what will be perceived as "valuable" years down the road. You are correct, one cannot buy with the idea that "this is going to be an investment."

I'd say the same thing about cars or even real estate. There are classified ads from the 1970s offering a V-12 Ferrari for 5-6000 bucks, cars worth a million today. But it's pretty hard to imagine buying on at today's appreciated price and then expecting that rate of return to continue.

And as you say, the current market is in a slump. Will it recover ? hard to say.

/markp

Kabuki12

Yea , I drove my 1957 356A T-1 beehive coupe for 26 years, and sold it for way more than ten times what I paid . Did I make money? Who knows after all the time and money I put in that little car! It was fun to drive though.

eldercycling

These bikes are beautiful and make me very excited to have the opportunity to make something similar.

I'll post pics once I have enough legitimate posts to prove bikeforum I am not a bot or bad actor.

Overall, reading through the comments to my original post did make me experience some regret for committing to buying more framesets for bikes that are middle of the road in quality, but I derive an incredible amount of pleasure from seeing something that is not rideable become something that people can enjoy. And I think with making some prudent decisions about sourcing parts that i might be able to come close to breaking even every once in a while and supplement the profit losing projects with more profitable ones. I got the idea in my head that I could turn older bikes around for a small profit because people, who couldn't repair their bikes, started giving me their old road bikes. For example, a friend gave me their old Schwinn Traveller that had been collecting dust in their bike room and that had always caused them problems. All it really needed was new bottom bracket bearings and a new friction shifter, as well as cables and housing and some tap for the handle bars. For $30 I had a bike that I could reasonably sell for $200. The same is true for an old Motobecane that I got for $60 and sold for $220 after servicing the bottom bracket, cleaning up the groupset and replacing brakepads, cables and housings.

I have built a little reputation in my small community and now just got my first "commission" I suppose: another friend gave me an old Bianchi frameset that they got and intended to build up but never got around to. They're instructions to me were "I'll buy the parts and you make it so I can ride it" and that was a good feeling.

Regarding keeping things vintage and modernizing components I think that for my next projects I will split the difference. I am getting three Super Mirage framesets. One I think I will modernize and turn into an art piece at great expense, and the other two keep classic.

Thanks for all the comments. Its my first time.

eldercycling

I got the same bottom bracket and it worked great. For my next projects I want to get a bottom brakcet with a square taper spindle, mainly so that I am not locked into either GxP or the Hollowtech systems. IRD has something that seems like it would work. I would post the link but I am still a newbie so I can't post links but you they are called "IRD Bottom Bracket Conversion Cups Pair" that work with their QB-55 bottom bracket. I am not sure it will be compatible as IRD seems to mainly make MTB parts but I think that I will give it a try. Velo orange has some deceptive bottom brackets that I thought would work but like I said, the bikes I have been working on are swiss threaded and the french bottom bracket on velo orange had the wrong threading.

eldercycling

Even with swiss bottom brackets, having the tools that you posted pictures of is important. When it came to removing the driveside cup on my Motobecane, I had to take it to a bike shop that had a fixed cup tool that passes through the shell and tightens down. The funny thing was that they unscrewed it and then told me it was french threaded (right hand threads on both sides) but when it came time to install a new bottom bracket, I discovered that it was left hand threaded on the drive side. The bike mechanic must have worked on instinct and then looked at the "Made in France" logo on the bike and figured it was a french bottom bracket, DESPITE loosening the cup by twisting it clockwise.

It was a learning experience for me and the bike mechanics were very helpful afterwards.

icemilkcoffee 

Aside from French BB and headsets/stems, another thing to watch out for is the Huret or Simplex style rear drop-outs. These are not compatible with the typical Shimano and Campagnolo rear derailleurs.

eldercycling

Is there a way of modifying the dropouts to use shimano deraileurs? I did a little googling but I am at a little bit of a loss where to start. It seems that the shimano need a tapped hole to thread into for mounting where the simplex is fixed into the dropout?

zandoval 

There are a few things that can really make a difference when resurrecting an old bike. I kind of go for the "make ride-able again classification", and not Restoration. That means replacing with what ever I have on hand things that are broken. As far as making the bike lighter in weight I change out solid steel seat posts and of course go for aluminum wheel sets. I also commonly replace steel stems and bars and cottered cranks. So what do I keep? The frame, brakes, shifters, derailleurs, and some times the pedals. Do note that the first priority is to get the bike rid-able. Of course this is just a way and not the way.

Doing an old bicycle "Restoration", that's a whole nuther bailiwick...

Well everyone knows your supposed ta fix um up and keep um... Right?

icemilkcoffee 

Also the Shimano/Campy RD's need a notch for the B-screw to push against. There are ways to convert these hangers, some elegant, some not. Show a picture of what you have.

BTinNYC 

To modify the RD hangar, you tap the existing hole and hand file a notch. Lots of details on the net.

This mod allowed me to use an excellent SunTour RD and ditch the heroic freewheel gearing.

eldercycling

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Perhaps my perspective is unique but my main interest has been (besides the joy of fixing things) getting bikes back into the hands of people who can enjoy them. I don't need 20 bikes, but space is a premium in a one bedroom apartment. I might have a different perspective when I have a garage.
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JohnDThompson 

Yes, you need to tap 10mm x 1mm threads, and depending on which version of Simplex dropout you have, you may need to file a stop for the upper derailleur pivot at about the 7 o'clock position.

bikef.f354s

Cool to see those new style bb on the Peugeot work.